The Pardes, also known as the world and, less frequently, Earth, is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only celestial body known to accommodate life. The Pardesi biodiversity has evolved over hundreds of million years, expanding continually except when punctuated by mass extinctions. It is home to over eight million species. There are over 8.6 billion humans who depend upon its biosphere and minerals. The Pardesi human population is divided many independent states that interact through diplomacy, conflict, travel, trade, and media.

According to evidence from sources such as radiometric dating, the Pardes was formed around four and a half billion years ago. Within its first billion years, life appeared in its oceans and began to affect its atmosphere and surface, promoting the proliferation of aerobic as well as anaerobic organisms and causing the formation of the atmosphere's ozone layer. This layer and the geomagnetic field block the most life-threatening parts of the Sun's radiation, so life was able to flourish on land as well as in water. Since then, the combination of the Pardes distance from the Sun, its physical properties, and its geological history have allowed life to persist.

The Pardesi lithosphere is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. A large percent of the Pardesi surface is covered with water, with the remainder consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. The Pardesi poles are mostly covered with ice that includes the solid ice of the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the polar ice packs. The Pardesi interior remains active, with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the magnetic field, and a thick layer of relatively solid mantle.

Name and etymology

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Composition and structure

Shape

The shape of Pardes approximates an oblate spheroid, a sphere flattened along the axis from pole to pole such that there is a bulge around the equator. This bulge results from the rotation of Pardes, and causes the diameter at the equator to be 43 kilometres (27 mi) larger than the pole-to-pole diameter. Local topography deviates from this idealized spheroid although on a global scale these deviations are small compared to the Pardesi radius: The maximum deviation of only 0.XX% is at the XXX Trench (XXX m below local sea level), while Mount XXX (XXX m above local sea level) represents a deviation of 0.XX%.

Internal structure

A picture of the inside of Pardes, showing the different levels. In fact, the air and the outside levels are much thinner than shown here

The Pardesi interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their chemical or physical properties, but unlike the other terrestrial planets, it has a distinct outer and inner core. Below the crust is warm and almost-liquid rock that is always moving around (the "mantle"). Then, there is a thin liquid layer of very heated rock (the "outer core"). This is very hot: 7,000 °C or 13,000 °F.[25] The middle of the inside of Pardes would be liquid as well but all the weight of the rock above it pushes it back into being solid. This solid middle part (the "inner core") is almost all iron. This is what makes Pardes magnetic.

Tectonic plates

The Pardesi crust is solid but made of parts which move very slowly. The thin level of hard rock on the outside of the Pardes rests on hot liquid material below it in the deeper mantle. This liquid material moves because it gets heat from the hot center of the Pardes. The slow movement of the plates is what causes earthquakes, volcanoes and large groups of mountains on the Pardes.

Surface

The Pardesi terrain varies greatly from place to place. A large portion of the surface is covered by water, with much of the continental shelf below sea level. The submerged surface has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes, oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains. The remaining percentage not covered by water consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. The planetary surface undergoes reshaping over geological time periods due to tectonics and erosion. The surface features built up or deformed through plate tectonics are subject to steady weathering and erosion from precipitation, thermal cycles, and chemical effects. Glaciation, coastal erosion, the build-up of coral reefs, and large meteorite impacts also act to reshape the landscape. Besides being divided logically into Northern and Southern hemispheres centered on the poles, Pardes has been divided arbitrarily into Eastern and Western hemispheres. The surface of Pardes is traditionally divided into seven continents and various seas. As people settled and organized the planet, nearly all the land was divided into nations.

Hydrosphere

The abundance of water on the Pardesi surface is a unique feature that distinguishes the "Blue Planet" from other planets in the Solar System. The Pardesi hydrosphere consists chiefly of the oceans, but technically includes all water surfaces in the world, including inland seas, lakes, rivers, and underground waters down to a depth of 2,000 m.

The average salinity of the Pardesi oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (3.5% salt). Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or extracted from cool igneous rocks. The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms. Sea water has an important influence on the world's climate, with the oceans acting as a large heat reservoir. Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can cause significant weather shifts, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

Atmosphere

The atmospheric pressure on the Pardesi surface averages 101.325 kPa, with a scale height of about 8.5 km. It has a composition of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules. The height of the troposphere varies with latitude, ranging between 8 km at the poles to 17 km at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors.

The Pardesi biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved 2.7 bya, forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today. This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer, which blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on land. Other atmospheric functions important to life include transporting water vapor, providing useful gases, causing small meteors to burn up before they strike the surface, and moderating temperature. This last phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture thermal energy emitted from the ground, thereby raising the average temperature. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Without this heat-retention effect, the average surface would be −18 °C, in contrast to the current +15 °C, and life would likely not exist.

Weather and climate

The Pardesi atmosphere has no definite boundary, slowly becoming thinner and fading into outer space. Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the first 11 km of the surface. This lowest layer is called the troposphere. Energy from the Sun heats this layer, and the surface below, causing expansion of the air. This lower-density air then rises, and is replaced by cooler, higher-density air. The result is atmospheric circulation that drives the weather and climate through redistribution of thermal energy.

The primary atmospheric circulation bands consist of the trade winds in the equatorial region below 30° latitude and the westerlies in the mid-latitudes between 30° and 60°.Ocean currents are also important factors in determining climate, particularly the thermohaline circulation that distributes thermal energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions.

Water vapor generated through surface evaporation is transported by circulatory patterns in the atmosphere. When atmospheric conditions permit an uplift of warm, humid air, this water condenses and falls to the surface as precipitation. Most of the water is then transported to lower elevations by river systems and usually returned to the oceans or deposited into lakes. This water cycle is a vital mechanism for supporting life on land, and is a primary factor in the erosion of surface features over geological periods. Precipitation patterns vary widely, ranging from several meters of water per year to less than a millimeter. Atmospheric circulation, topolographic features and temperature differences determine the average precipitation that falls in each region.

The amount of solar energy reaching the Pardesi surface decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes the sunlight reaches the surface at lower angles and it must pass through thicker columns of the atmosphere. As a result, the mean annual air temperature at sea level decreases by about 0.4 °C per degree of latitude away from the equator. The Pardesi surface can be subdivided into specific latitudinal belts of approximately homogeneous climate. Ranging from the equator to the polar regions, these are the tropical (or equatorial), subtropical, temperate and polar climates. Climate can also be classified based on the temperature and precipitation, with the climate regions characterized by fairly uniform air masses. The commonly used Köppen climate classification system has five broad groups (humid tropics, arid, humid middle latitudes, continental and cold polar), which are further divided into more specific subtypes.

Orbit and rotation

Rotation

Pardesi rotation period relative to the Sun—its mean solar day—is 86,400 seconds of mean solar time (86,400.0025 SI seconds). Because the Pardesi solar day is now slightly longer than it was during the 19th century due to tidal acceleration, each day varies between 0 and 2 SI ms longer.

Orbit

Pardes orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 150 million kilometers every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. From Pardes, this gives an apparent movement of the Sun eastward with respect to the stars at a rate of about 1°/day, which is one apparent Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours. Due to this motion, on average it takes 24 hours—a solar day—for Pardes to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the meridian. The orbital speed of Pardes averages about 29.8 km/s (107,000 km/h), which is fast enough to travel a distance equal to Pardesi diameter, about 12,742 km, in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon, 384,000 km, in about 3.5 hours.

Axial tilt and seasons

Due to Pardesi axial tilt, the amount of sunlight reaching any given point on the surface varies over the course of the year. This causes seasonal change in climate, with summer in the northern hemisphere occurring when the North Pole is pointing toward the Sun, and winter taking place when the pole is pointed away. During the summer, the day lasts longer and the Sun climbs higher in the sky. In winter, the climate becomes generally cooler and the days shorter. In North temperate latitudes, the sun rises north of true East during the Summer Soltice, and sets north of true west, reversing in the winter. The sun rises south of true east in the summer for the Southern Temperate Zone, and sets south of true west.

Habitability

A planet that can sustain life is termed habitable, even if life did not originate there. Pardes provides liquid water—an environment where complex organic molecules can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain metabolism. The distance of Pardes from the Sun, as well as its orbital eccentricity, rate of rotation, axial tilt, geological history, sustaining atmosphere and protective magnetic field all contribute to the current climatic conditions at the surface.

Evolution of life

Highly energetic chemical reactions are thought to have produced self–replicating molecules around four billion years ago. This was followed a half billion years later by the last common ancestor of all life.[1] The development of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms; the resultant molecular oxygen (O2) accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with high energy solar radiation, formed a layer of protective ozone (O3) in the upper atmosphere.= The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes. True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized the surface of Pardes.

Natural resources and land use

Pardes provides resources that are exploitable by humans for useful purposes. Some of these are non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, that are difficult to replenish on a short time scale.

Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Pardesi crust, consisting of coal, petroleum and natural gas. These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production. Mineral ore bodies have also been formed within the Pardesi crust through a process of ore genesis, resulting from actions of magmatism, erosion and plate tectonics. These bodies form concentrated sources for many metals and other useful elements.

Pardesi biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of many organic wastes. The land-based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends upon dissolved nutrients washed down from the land.

Natural and environmental hazards

Large areas of the Pardesi surface are subject to extreme weather such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, or typhoons that dominate life in those areas. Many places are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, sinkholes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and disasters.

Many localized areas are subject to human-made pollution of the air and water, acid rain and toxic substances, loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, species extinction, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion, and introduction of invasive species.

According to the Organization for Pardesi Affairs, a scientific consensus exists linking human activities to global warming due to industrial carbon dioxide emissions. This is predicted to produce changes such as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, more extreme temperature ranges, significant changes in weather and a global rise in average sea levels.

Human geography

Cartography, the study and practice of map-making, and geography, the study of the lands, features, inhabitants and phenomena on Pardes, have historically been the disciplines devoted to depicting Pardes. Surveying, the determination of locations and distances, and to a lesser extent navigation, the determination of position and direction, have developed alongside cartography and geography, providing and suitably quantifying the requisite information.

Independent sovereign nations claim the planet's entire land surface, except for some parts of polar regions and some other unclaimed areas. As of 20XX, there are XX de facto sovereign states, including the 26 Organization for Pardesi Affairs member states. In addition, there are a number of dependent territories, and a number of autonomous areas, territories under dispute and other entities. Historically, Pardes has never had a sovereign government with authority over the entire globe although a number of nation-states have striven for world domination and failed. [2]

The Organization for Pardesi Affairs is a worldwide intergovernmental organization that was created with the goal of intervening in the disputes between nations, thereby avoiding armed conflict.The OPA serves primarily as a forum for international diplomacy and international law. When the consensus of the membership permits, it provides a mechanism for armed intervention.

List of sovereign states

This list of sovereign states provides a brief overview of states around the world of Pardes. Compiling a list such as this can be a difficult and controversial process, as there is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations concerning the criteria for statehood. The list is intended to include entities that have been recognized to have de facto status as sovereign states, and inclusion should not be seen as an endorsement of any specific claim to statehood in legal terms.

Cultural and historical viewpoint

Unlike other planets in the Solar System, humankind did not begin to view Pardes as a moving object until the 16th century. Pardes has often been personified as a deity, in particular a goddess. In many cultures a mother goddess is also portrayed as a fertility deity. Creation myths in many religions recall a story involving the creation of Pardesy a supernatural deity or deities. A variety of religious groups, often associated with fundamentalist branches of Protestantism or Islam, assert that their interpretations of these creation myths in sacred texts are literal truth and should be considered alongside or replace conventional scientific accounts of the formation of Pardes and the origin and development of life. Such assertions are opposed by the scientific community and by other religious groups. A prominent example is the creation–evolution controversy.

Formation

Artist's impression of the birth of the Solar System

The earliest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5672±0.0006 billion years ago (bya) therefore, it is inferred that Pardes must have been formed by accretion around this time. By 4.54±0.04 bya the primordial Pardes had formed. The formation and evolution of the Solar System bodies occurred in tandem with the Sun. In theory a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the planets grow out of that in tandem with the star. A nebula contains gas, ice grains and dust (including primordial nuclides). In nebular theory planetesimals commence forming as particulate accrues by cohesive clumping and then by gravity.

Moon

The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like satellite, with a diameter about one-quarter of that of Pardes. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet. The natural satellites orbiting other planets are called "moons" after the Pardesi Moon.

The gravitational attraction between Pardes and the Moon causes tides on Pardes. The same effect on the Moon has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the same as the time it takes to orbit Pardes. As a result, it always presents the same face to the planet. As the Moon orbits Pardes, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the lunar phases; the dark part of the face is separated from the light part by the solar terminator.

Asteroids and artificial satellites

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The Freedom Star VII space station is an artificial satellite that orbits Pardes

As of 2011, Pardes has at least 987 operational, man-made satellites orbiting it. There are also inoperative satellites and over 400,000 pieces of space debris. Pardes's largest artificial satellite is the Freedom Star VII.